Among the many participants in the 19th Artigianato e Palazzo is a French artisan Georgine Glaenzer who makes very special hats. She calls herself the ‘creator of millinery sculptures’ will present her extravagant hats for the first time in the Corsini Gardens this May.
After stylist and designer Georgine Glaenzer earned her degree from École nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, she spent 10 years doing industrial design in the sports world, for which she was awarded a prize at the Salon of artistic decorators. She then decided to devote herself full-time to designing bags and hats based on the ancient Japanese art of origami made from cotton tulle. Her works were a great success from the beginning, and were shown in 2004 at the Musée Galliera, the musem of fashion and costume in Paris.
In 2005 she launched her first collection of ‘millinery sculptures,’ original designs in buntal, a vegetable fibre that is both flexible and durable, and that can be modelled into any shape—curved, spiral, draped, pleated or arabesque. In just a few seconds, Glaenzer can twist the fabric into a turban, a big bow, a tiara—whatever she thinks enhances the face.
Her hats have been displayed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, such as the Diane Hermes Prize at Chantilly and the Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. This year she is presenting her latest creations at the Artigianato e Palazzo in Florence so that Italy can also see the amazing beauty of her unique hats.
Such is her passion for this art, that to pass on her secrets to a younger generation, she organises classes for children in her Paris workshop (www.georgineg.com) where each child creates a made-to-measure hat and wears it at a fun fashion parade.
